Motivationals - Today is another chance to make yourself PROUD.

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

I don't know about anybody else, but all those motivational pictures you see with the skinny minnie girls who are in great shape but are 1/2 (or even sometimes 3/4!) naked do nothing to motivate me to lose weight or get in shape. I don't see why you need to be in tiny panties or topless to show how awesome your bod is. I can appreciate a beautiful woman and her body, I just don't need to see every part of it. Just sayin...

Just click the health/fitness section of Pinterest and you'll see what I'm talking about. Or, there are whole blogs dedicated to "thinspiration" and it can be frustrating and DE-motivational to see these images when you weigh closer to 300 lbs than 100 lbs because you know you'll probably never look like that or don't necessarily want to look like that. I'm not saying those images shouldn't exist, as long as they are not advertising unhealthy behavior, they all have a place on the internet and may be motivational to some. I just don't find them helpful to me personally. I am not striving to have that kind of competition-ready body, or be a size 0. I am just trying to be realistic and lose weight in the healthiest way possible to be the best me 'I' can be. Over the past few years I have collected several images and words with positive messages that I find helpful to think about when going through this process.

This is INCREDIBLY true. Whether you are using the time you have to work on yourself, the time passes anyhow. You choose what you do with the time you have. You might as well do something good for yourself with it.

Each and every day is a chance to start over again. Every day is an opportunity. Ate something you shouldn't have or ate more than you should have last night? Don't use it as an excuse to binge all weekend and start over on Monday. Sat around all day and now you feel bad about it? There is always tomorrow, don't let it pass you by.

This is a great affirmation or mantra. Do something today that will make your life better in the future.

I don't know if these numbers are accurate, but as someone who has lost weight in the past, I know that it is difficult to really see the changes in yourself for a while. That can be discouraging when you are working hard to not really notice a difference in your body. And then you start noticing a difference but it seems like no one else sees the change. This is just a good reminder that changes in your body are not instant. It takes time to see the work pay off, but it will be worth it 3 months from now and even further down the road.

This one is really important for me and I'm sure a lot of other members to remember. If you're tired of starting over, stop giving up. It's kind of harsh sounding, but it's the truth most of the time. There are always excuses for why you stopped or good intentions to come back, but I've done it many times and always end up right in the same place. We need to be reminded that we need to stick with it and really commit long-term in order for it to work.
And last but not least:
If not now, WHEN?